Few events can be more distressing for a homeowner than the discovery of termite infestation. Unchecked, these wood consuming pests can completely destroy the structural integrity of a dwelling. As a result, a plethora of termite extermination devices, compounds, and methods have evolved over time.
While chemical approaches have proven effective, these methods have drawbacks, however, often using powerful insecticides that can require the displacement of residents over a considerable time period and have considerable impact on the environment.
There also exist a number of non-toxic methods such as that set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,545 issued to Yoshito Nakashima. The material presented by this patent requires accessing hard to reach places, and so can be very time consuming and labor intensive.
Like the present invention, German Patent No. DE3804052 held by Robert Bosch GmbH, utilizes microwave energy to kill plants and garden pests. The invention includes a microwave transmitter that is housed in a number of different assemblies, including a number of hand pushed carts, hand held units, a drawer and a conveyor belt. The drawbacks of the design is that it does not cover a wide area, is not automated, programmable, and does not possess any substantial safety features.
To the inventors' knowledge, no insect eradication system using microwave energy has been developed that provides a programmable, automated system having a variety of safety features that is capable of treating large objects and/or areas.